Stuffed into an uncomfortably small trailer with a swarm of microphones and tape recorders jammed in his face, Penn State quarterback Michael Robinson finally had to answer questions about where the Nittany Lions would be bowling come January.

When asked whether he would prefer to play in the Orange Bowl or the Fiesta Bowl, Robinson answered with an emphatic none of the above.

"Rose Bowl," Robinson answered, before quickly moving on to the next question.

The Lions have broken practice by chanting "Rose Bowl" all season, and after clinching a bid in a Bowl Championship Series game with Saturday's victory over Michigan State on Saturday, a spot in the National Championship game in Pasadena, Calif., is not out of the question.

"I try to stay away from hoping or wishing anything," Robinson said. "But we just need a little help."

That little help would have to come from opponents of Southern California or Texas, who hold the top spots in the BCS rankings, in which Penn State currently stands at No. 3.

Miami (FL) held the No. 3 spot entering last weekend, but opened the door for the Lions by losing to unranked Georgia Tech.

Theoretically, this means that if either Texas or USC were to lose one of their remaining games, the Lions would play for the national championship on Jan. 4.

Texas closes its regular season Friday with a game at Texas A&M and then most likely Colorado in the Big XII Championship Game on Dec. 3. USC has only one game remaining -- at home vs. No. 11 UCLA, also on Dec. 3.

Unfortunately for Penn State fans, even if either of the undefeated teams lost, the Lions may not end up smelling like roses.

Louisiana State, the No. 4 team in the BCS, has one loss but could catch Penn State by winning the SEC Championship Game against Georgia.

The Lions currently have a sizeable lead over LSU, but since the Tigers potentially have two more games, how it ends up will be in question for at least another two weeks.

As it stands right now, Penn State leads LSU .890 to .837 in the BCS rankings, largely on the strength of the Lions' superior ranking in the computer portion of the polls. Penn State's average computer ranking is No. 3 while LSU's is No. 8.

"Penn State will be the highest-rated one-loss team in the computers," BCS expert Jerry Palm said yesterday. "LSU is so far behind right now in the computers, which is why Penn State is ahead. With the current poll margins the way they are, LSU would have to be 4.5 in the polls to pass them in the BCS."

In the meantime, Penn State fans should try to take the stance of Coach Joe Paterno, who generally ignores the BCS.

"I just don't like it. I hate people who vote somebody for a championship," Paterno said earlier in the year. "Obviously, it's something personal because, like I said, we had five national championships, but we've only been voted twice. So, that's the way it goes."

Nevertheless, Paterno could pay more attention to the BCS if Texas or USC loses and the Lions still miss out on the Rose Bowl.

Day to remember

Offense: Tony Hunt. Hunt put together another outstanding performance with 89 yards rushing on 20 carries and 29 yards receiving on two catches. The rushing yards pushed Hunt over 1,000 yards on the season, an honor that he richly deserves. Robinson has said all season that Hunt was the one who made Penn State's offense go, and the junior came up huge when the offense couldn't get going on Saturday.

Defense: Alan Zemaitis. Hmm ... tough choice. Zemaitis put together the best performance of his career in the biggest game of his career with three interceptions. Zemaitis simply baited Drew Stanton into throwing at him on two of the picks, leading Robinson to wonder, "I don't understand why people are still throwing at him."

Day to forget

Offense: The wide receivers. Deon Butler rebounded nicely to catch yet another touchdown pass on a short slant, but for the first time this season, Penn State's wideouts struggled hanging on to the ball. Butler, Justin King and Ethan Kilmer all dropped passes that were right in their mitts when the offense was struggling in the first quarter.

Defense: Michigan State fans. It would seem as though MSU's fans would have been a little bit more involved in a game that gave them a chance to play spoiler, but they did little to help their defense when Penn State's offense was on the field. I guess Sparty and Co. weren't particularly excited about the possibility of playing in the Motor City Bowl the day after Christmas in tropical Detroit.

Quotable

Zemaitis, when asked about his feelings on another potential interception that slipped out of his hands in the fourth quarter: "So I should get down on myself? What are you trying to do here? We won the Big Ten, man. We won the Big Ten. We trying to go to the BCS, we are going to the BCS, we trying to get the best bowl bid we can, point blank, end of story."

Did you notice?

How Penn State's traveling fans were treated like convicted felons by the Michigan State police who lined the visitors section as the clock wound down ... The dog catching Frisbees on the field during timeouts ... That this is the second straight year that the Spartans are goin' fishin' after a loss to Penn State ... Penn State fans ripping benches out of the Spartan Stadium stands ... The heinous Tropicana colored jackets worn by Orange Bowl representatives.

Extra point

The scene on the field after Penn State's win was one that Penn State fans will not forget for a long, long time. But can you even imagine the celebration that would have rocked State College had Fresno State upended USC? State College would have burned to the ground. Still, don't leave Penn State's national championship dreams for dead yet. This season has that Red Sox-ish, team-of-destiny, feel to it.